Family Life

After bidding farewell to the reluctant Kushina and Minato, Duke swayed his way home, digesting his meal while thinking about the Chunin Exam a month from now, around the beginning of next year. The Chunin Exam was quite interesting. Whether a Genin could graduate and advance to Chunin did not depend on academic rankings, but on overall ability. Chunin served as low-level commanders on the battlefield. More than Power Level, they needed calm, level-headed minds. Outstanding battlefield analysis and judgment, along with efficient decision-making, were the keys to becoming a Chunin.

Of course, that was just the surface, put on for outsiders to see. If they truly followed such harsh standards, getting two Chunin out of a hundred Genin would already be the limit. In fact, aside from the twice-yearly routine performance, the Five Great Nations all had their own systems for selecting Chunin, especially after a war. Low-level commanders needed to be replenished quickly, and this too was a kind of arms race.

Duke did not care about the affairs of nations and villages. What concerned him was whether he should hold back during the exam. A nine-year-old Chunin would draw special attention from other villages, especially a Konoha ninja like Duke who possessed the Ice Release Bloodline. Hidden Mist would certainly be delighted to kill him. The Third Great Ninja War was not far off, and Duke had no desire to invite trouble for the sake of empty fame. Once he landed on certain ninja villages' blacklists, things would get interesting.

As he walked, Duke was drawn in by the noisy crowd ahead and went over to watch. Whenever there was a commotion, one had to watch. Something delightfully entertaining might happen.

"That's it, beat them up good! How dare they look down on me."

"Yes, Boss!"

Young voices came from the center of the crowd, accompanied by screams that were quite pleasing to the ears. Duke was a little disappointed. It seemed to be just a scuffle between bratty kids, not Jiraiya-sensei getting caught peeping. But when he squeezed to the front and saw Anko shouting as she led a group of kids in beating up another group, his face twisted in anger.

"Making trouble on my turf? Who gave you the guts? Don't you know I'm the one protecting this place?" Anko sat atop the equally foolish-looking Hades, arms folded over her chest, with protectors on either side.

"Damn it! If it weren't for that dog, this street would be ours." The brat pinned to the ground was probably their leader. His face was bruised and swollen, but he still refused to yield as he shouted at Anko, "If you've got the guts, fight me one-on-one! I'll flatten your chest!"

"Idiot, why would I fight you one-on-one?" Anko spat on the ground and said disdainfully, "Fights are about having more people. My brother said so."

"You flat-chested brat, you must be scared."

The brat tried to provoke her, but it was useless. Anko stuck out her tongue and made a face at him.

"Too scared, huh? You coward!"

"What an arrogant brat. Your mouth reeks worse than my feet!" Hades stretched out a claw and gestured menacingly, scaring the brat into shrieking.

After Duke became a Genin, he was often away from home and never took Hades on missions. He had only left it a scroll titled 'Garurumon Taijutsu Manual' and made it train every day. Heaven knew how that wolfdog named Garurumon Duke could actually breathe fire. It had nearly made Hades flip the table. Without a Kekkei Genkai, how could it possibly use Fire Release?

"What are you two doing here?" Veins bulged on Duke's forehead as he smacked Anko and Hades on the head once each. The bratty kids shouted, "A monster!" and scattered in all directions. The onlookers complained that the excitement was over and dispersed as well.

"It's Brother Duke! That hurt!" Anko clutched the lump on her head and said pitifully.

"So it was you. No wonder you managed to sneak up on me. I heard you were hospitalized. I was just planning to take Anko to visit you!" Hades lied through its teeth with its eyes wide open, its deeply aggrieved expression begging to be punched.

"Answer me. What were you two doing here?"

"..." Anko and Hades exchanged looks, their four eyes rolling nonstop. Could they tell him they had been claiming turf and collecting protection money? If they said it, they would definitely get beaten up.

"Forget it, it's not important. I'm tired. Hurry up and come home with me." Duke had little interest in what had happened. It was probably just, "What are you looking at?" "What are you gonna do about it?" "Get them!" "Brothers, let's take them down!"

They were bratty kids. Did they need a reason to fight?

"Where did you go today, Brother Duke?" Riding on Hades's back, Anko tugged at Duke and asked, "Dad said you were discharged. Hades and I saw that you hadn't come home all day, so we were about to go look for you!"

"I went to practice a new ninjutsu today. Sorry for making you worry." Duke gave her a head pat, and Anko tilted her head back and let out a satisfied purr.

The two people and one dog walked beneath the afterglow of the setting sun and soon reached the Mitarashi Residence. After pushing open the door, they called out together, "We're back!"

"Anko, where did you run off to?" In the living room, Natsuki glared at Anko.

"I went to find Brother Duke. Didn't I bring him back?" Anko hurriedly hid behind Duke and poked her head out as she spoke.

"Why are you covered in dust? Go take a bath, now. You really never let me stop worrying. I'm sending you to the Ninja Academy next year." With that, she picked up Anko and headed toward the bathroom. Seeing that the head of the household was in a foul mood, Hades tucked its tail and slipped away, leaving behind a speechless Duke and Zixiao, who lay on the sofa drinking tea and reading the newspaper.

"Uncle Zixiao!"

"Ah, what is it?" Zixiao answered casually without looking up from the newspaper.

"I took a teacher today!" Duke felt it was necessary to explain, so he got straight to the point.

"?"

Zixiao finally put down the newspaper, his face full of confusion. "You're so unlikable, and someone actually accepted you as a disciple? Who was it?"

"It was Jiraiya-sensei, one of the Sannin!" Duke dropped a bombshell. "I ran into him while I was with Senior Brother Minato, then I became his disciple!"

"Lord Jiraiya... are you sure?" Zixiao was dumbfounded. In the Shinobi World, taking on a disciple was no trivial matter. It concerned one's own legacy and was not something done lightly. Even ordinary ninja considered it again and again before accepting a disciple, let alone powerful figures like the Sannin, who observed potential disciples for a long time. The Sannin were not just any random cats or dogs. As top-tier experts of the Shinobi World, they had extremely high standards for disciples. Back then, even when Zixiao asked Orochimaru, with whom he had a good relationship, to take Duke in, he had been refused. Zixiao had thought the matter was over and there would be no further developments. Who would have thought Duke would quietly win over Jiraiya directly? How was he supposed to feel about that?

"There's no mistake. There's only one legendary pervert in Konoha, so he's easy to recognize. And Senior Brother Minato can testify." Duke rolled his eyes. Was he really that untrustworthy?

"I just find it unbelievable." Zixiao's mind was still spinning. He had failed to find Duke a powerful backer, yet Duke had managed it himself. Orochimaru and Jiraiya were both from Naruto's faction, so this could be considered a perfect ending.

"Tell me, why did Lord Jiraiya accept you?" Zixiao pressed. Unless it was a family Ninjutsu Sect or an order from the village, ninja did not casually accept disciples.

"It's a long story. How should I put it?" Duke poured himself a cup of tea and took a bite of a pastry.

"Then make a long story short!" Zixiao urged.

"Senior Brother Minato and Sister Kushina treated me to ramen..."

"Wait. I understand Senior Brother Minato, but Sister Kushina... what's that about?" Zixiao interrupted, looking thoughtful.

"She insisted I call her that. She also taught me the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu. It's a very practical ninjutsu."

"I understand. Go on, what happened next?" Zixiao nodded and praised his own cleverness. It really was the Uzumaki Bloodline.

"Then we ran into Jiraiya-sensei. I performed a ninjutsu, and he thought I was very talented, so he accepted me as his disciple." Duke answered truthfully. After trimming the beginning and end, that was basically what happened... probably!

"That's it? That's your long story?" Zixiao was speechless. He made it sound so easy. How could it be that simple to make Jiraiya willingly take a disciple?

"That's it." Duke nodded.

"Don't try to fool me. Show me the ninjutsu you performed."

"Here?" Duke pointed toward the bathroom. Aunt Natsuki was still there. Wouldn't that be inappropriate?

"Is it a highly destructive ninjutsu?" Zixiao had clearly misunderstood.

"No, it's a ninjutsu derived from the Transformation Jutsu. Its destructive power varies from person to person."

"Then stop talking and hurry up."

"Fine!" Duke shrugged, set down his teacup, formed the hand seals for the Transformation Jutsu, and shouted, "Leaf Village Secret Technique: Sexy Jutsu!"

Poof—

The white smoke cleared, revealing a tall black-haired woman with a curvaceous figure facing Zixiao in a pose that invited sin. She wore revealing clothes, with several strips of black cloth wrapped around her private areas, outlining her fiery curves. Her straight, slender, fair legs rested on the coffee table in a seductive display. The white rabbits on her chest gleamed like ivory under the light, and that deep cleavage instantly sucked Zixiao's soul into it.

"Ah—what are you doing? Change back now!" Zixiao's face turned red with embarrassment and anger as he punched Duke on the forehead.

Duke dispelled the Sexy Jutsu, full of grievance. "Why did you hit me? Didn't you tell me to perform it?"

"Then you should have explained it clearly! If Natsuki sees this, I'll die! I'll die! I'll die!" Like a burst dam, the enraged Zixiao roared and sprayed Duke's face with saliva.

"Did you call me?" Natsuki's voice came from the bathroom, carrying a trace of displeasure.

"It was Uncle Zixiao. He insisted that I perform the Sexy..." Duke loudly said, enjoying the chaos, but Zixiao covered his mouth midway through.

"It's nothing, nothing. We're just fooling around!" Zixiao's face went pale as he desperately shook his head at Duke.

"If it's nothing, why are you shouting so loudly? The neighbors will complain!" Natsuki scolded him before falling silent again.

Zixiao felt as if a burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He let out a breath and collapsed onto the sofa. Fortunately, he had reacted quickly, or the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"Tch, what a shame."

"Hey, kid! What did you just say? I heard that. You did it on purpose."

"How could that be? Uncle Zixiao must have misheard." Duke played dumb and firmly refused to admit that he had deliberately set him up.

"What a sin!" Zixiao covered his face, three black lines hanging over his head.

"Great minds think alike. Jiraiya-sensei is such a pervert. What a sin indeed." Duke nodded in agreement.

"No, I mean you're the sinful one. How do you come up with all these strange jutsu?"

"Uncle Zixiao gave me the inspiration at the barbershop last time."

"Let's... not mention that... I just want some peace and quiet."

"Who's Jingjing? Is she the big sister from the barbershop?"

"Shut up!"